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Thursday, February 18, 2016

2014 Black Hills Moto-Camping-Fishing Adventure - Part 1

February in Minnesota is a time to finish up winter modifications on your bike, plan that big summer trip, and/or reminisce about past adventures... because it's freezing fucking cold out. For me, it's time to do the latter. At the end of May 2014, I packed up my Road King and took a solo moto-camping-fishing trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. I didn't get around to blogging about it... until now.

I assume this is making some sort of artistic statement. I really don't know.

It was very warm when I left so I was riding in a t-shirt. While cruising along, I took a bee to the armpit. It hurt and I had to pull over. It's difficult to see, but here's the stinger I pulled out of my skin. It's the second time I've had that happen. The first time was to my neck.

My destination for day one was Pierre, SD where I had a campsite booked. In case you didn't know, Pierre is the state capital (no, it's not the Corn Palace in Mitchell). I typically take I-90 out to South Dakota but stayed north on US-212 instead. You don't lose much time and it's a far more enjoyable ride through small towns and down 2-lane roads.

I stayed at Farm Island Recreation Area. I sprung for a cabin so I wouldn't have to unpack and repack my tent and it was only $40. It had A/C which turned out to be awesome since it was pretty hot that day and the mosquitoes were hungry.

I did a little fishing at the campsite and made some brats once it got dark. I had to get firewood and food supplies in town.

The next morning, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise and then I packed up and continued west.

The skies started to cloud up and this would be a consistent theme throughout my trip.

And the angels sang... "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

After having a snack in a prairie dog town...

... I headed through Badlands National Park. I've been many times and can't recommend it enough if you haven't.

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About

Gophers and Cheese is a motorcycle blog focused on riding and events in Minnesota and Wisconsin near the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. With very rare exception (such as event flyers), all of the photos and written content are completely unique and original to this site.

I bought my first motorcycle (my Sportster) in 2006 and have been hooked ever since. I started the blog in 2010 because (1) I found it really difficult to find out what events were going on locally and (2) I just really like to take photos.

The blog's name "Gophers and Cheese" simply refers to Minnesota (The Gopher State) and Wisconsin (America's Dairyland), which is where I do the vast majority of my riding. I admit that it's a strange name for a motorcycle blog, but it keeps me (and everyone else) from taking it too seriously.